One year in, how Cincinnati's streetcar stands

Streetcar tracks on Race Street in Over-the-Rhine. The route is 3.6 miles, from The Banks in Downtown to Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine.
(Photo:
The Enquirer/ Liz Dufour
)

It's been a tumultuous ride for Cincinnati's streetcar project.

But construction is on time and on budget a year after work officially began on the 3.6-mile route through parts of Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. The $133 million project still has a way to go – with the streetcar scheduled to open in September 2016.

Join Enquirer reporters Sharon Coolidge and Jason Williams; streetcar project leaders John Deatrick and Chris Eilerman; and City Councilwoman Amy Murray for a Q&A and walking tour of the streetcar route.

• How we got here. In May 2010, City Council voted 6-2 to put $67 million into the streetcar project, which was then estimated to cost taxpayers $128 million. The project had opposition from the start, but voters approved the project through two referendums.

In 2009, voters shot down, 56 to 44 percent, the idea that any rail projects would first have to be approved by residents. Two years later, 52 percent of voters shot down a measure that would have stopped the city from developing the streetcar.

But then in November, John Cranley was elected mayor on an anti-streetcar platform. The day after he was elected, Cranley proclaimed: "It's dead." The newly elected council halted the project, seeking an independent audit. The federal government gave the city a midnight deadline on Dec. 19 to make a decision – or else the feds were pulling the rest of its $45 million designated for the project.

After a contentious debate Dec. 19 at City Hall, council approved the project in a 6-3 vote – enough to avoid a mayoral veto. Councilman Kevin Flynn's was the swing vote – won over by a private-sector guarantee to pay up to $9 million in operating costs over the streetcar's first decade.

• It's on budget and on time. The construction budget is $133 million, but that doesn't include $15 million in escrow pending resolution of a dispute between the city and Duke Energy over who must pay to move utilities.

So far, costs are within budget, project leaders say. Streetcar project executive John Deatrick says the city has avoided cost overruns so far, because planners were thorough in their analysis of what's underneath the streets prior to construction starting.

Streetcars in other cities, including Atlanta, have encountered millions in cost overruns because workers found unexpected surprises such as vaults, basements and unused utility infrastructure underneath century-old streets.

City Council's transportation committee continues to provide monthly oversight of the project. Last month, the committee was surprised to learn from project leaders that the city would be on the hook for another $1 million in startup costs.

The local portion of the project, $102.9 million, comes from: tax increment financing, money from the sale of the Blue Ash Airport, money from the sale of city streetlights to Duke Energy, and city property and income tax revenues. Federal grants total another $45.2 million.

No state money is being used for the project. Soon after Republican John Kasich took over as governor in 2011, the state pulled $52 million from the project – money that would have taken the streetcar route Uptown near the University of Cincinnati and the region's top hospitals.

• Where will it go? The streetcar route is 3.6 miles, going from The Banks to Findlay Market. One third of it is built.

Once the first phase is completed, conversation about Uptown is expected to heat up. But the funding prospects are questionable, with Cranley still in office and polls showing Kasich likely to win re-election this fall.

Still, workers will build short rail extensions onto Elder and Findlay streets in preparation for a second phase. The streetcar route is expected to be completed by spring 2016, with the first passengers riding it Sept. 15. So far, it's on track to meet that deadline, project leaders say.

• The arguments for and against the project. Supporters say the streetcar will not only be used for transportation, but it will spark economic development and help with the ongoing revitalization of Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. Believe in Cincinnati, the group of urban dwellers and young professionals who helped save the project, is already lobbying city and business leaders to find money to expand the route to Uptown.

Streetcar opponents argue the project is too expensive – especially because the city's operating budget is shrinking – and it takes away from other city services. They continue to be concerned about how much the city will have to pay in operating costs, currently estimated at $3.8 million a year.

• What's next. Operating cost discussions are ongoing, and project leaders say they're looking at multiple revenue sources to close the projected operating gap. A Cleveland-based consultant is reviewing sponsorships and naming rights. The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority will operate the streetcar, and the agency is expected to have a third-party operator hired by the end of the year.

The private sector, which is working on finding more money, has been quiet lately – a source of frustration for some City Council members. In exchange for federal money, the city has agreed to run the streetcar for 25 to 30 years. By November, council must identify the money needed to run the streetcar.

The project leader: In his words

John Deatrick, highly regarded for his work on Fort Washington Way and The Banks, was hired a year ago to run the streetcar project. Here's what the project means to him:

I've been lucky in my career with the city being exposed to so many different aspects of what the city does. Going back to when I first started in 1973, I was in the Department of Urban Development and Family Relocation before I finished my engineering degree in night school. We were desperately trying to do something for Over-the-Rhine at that point. There was a lot of subsidized housing being done by rehabbing the buildings. That was the way to get people to re-occupy the buildings that were rapidly emptying out – and also take care of the need for affordable housing. Well, that failed. That always kind of hung on me my whole career. So to be engaged in a project that I think will help what the developers are currently doing – 3CDC, the Model Group and others along with the people who are starting businesses – it is an absolute thrill. Bringing life back is really important.